Sweet Girl
by lizmynameis
Summary: With the strain of three years ago behind them, Juice and Ally dream of having their happily ever after. But, happy endings come at a price. Continuation of 'Pretty Girl' and 'Strong Girl.'
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, Loves! After a long hiatus, I am back with the third installment of our Juice and Ally adventure. If you are new, be sure to check out** ** _Pretty Girl_** **and then** ** _Strong Girl_** **to reduce confusion within the story. To** ** _LoveInk_** **. . . lookit! Lookit! I did it! And it wouldn't have happened without you! Enjoy!**

Loud, animated voices woke Ally from a restless sleep. She quickly turned to her side to find the spot that her son Gabriel had been sleeping in empty. With a groan she rubbed her face and swung her legs out of the bed.

The volume on the TV was lowered, though not by much, as Ally pulled on her lilac silk robe around her.

"Gabe," she called out as she walked down the corridor, "turn it down!"

The volume continued to go down as she came into the living room and saw her three year old son Gabriel laying in front of the television with their German Shepard dog, Reaper, next to him.

"Sorry, mama," he said with wide, brown eyes and a mischievous grin. "Look! Mi'key!"

"I see Mickey, I just don't want to hear him so early," Ally replied as she ruffled his hair and motioned for Reaper to follow her. It was time for him to go out. "You know what today is," she asked as she let Reaper out into the fenced in back yard.

"Daddy!" Gabriel stood and jumped.

Ally grinned and scooped him up. "That's right! Daddy's coming home today!"

Today was the day her husband Juice was going to be released from the San Joaquin Correctional Facility. It has been three long years with him on the inside. Even though she and Juice had married before he went in in an effort to protect Gabriel and keep him with her, Ally adopted him with Juice's insistence and blessing.

"Are you excited?" At Gabriel's nod, Ally giggled. "Me too, baby. Let's get you some breakfast so we can get going."

Ally was giddy the entire time she and Gabriel got ready.

"Come on," she coaxed as she hurried him to the car and strapped him into his seat.

"I can do it," he whined, pushing her hands away from the clips as he kicked his feet.

Ally sighed and snapped the last one. "I know, Gabe, but we don't have all day. I gotta go by the shop before we go meet Daddy and Pops." Gabriel whined, but relented as Ally cranked the car and they left.

She had been waiting on this day for three long years. While the original sentence had only been for just over a year, the club's unfortunate involvement in a prison riot added extra time. Extra, precious time.

With Gabriel being extra squirmy, she carried him into her tattoo shop and greeted her employees quickly before dashing to the back to write checks. "Will you be quiet and color for Mommy so I can do this," she asked as she set Gabriel in the corner she had set up a coloring and toy station for him.

Gabriel paid her no mind as he immediately grabbed his favorite Mickey Mouse coloring book. The crayons exploded out of the plastic tub and rolled over the floor as he clumsily opened it. He wasn't bothered with it while picking up a broken red crayon to begin scribbling with.

Ally rolled her eyes and tried not to feel too agitated. Today was going to be a good day and those damn crayons would still be there all over her office floor when she came back.

Signing her name one last time with a flourish, Ally snapped the checkbook closed. "Okay, Gabe, put your coloring book and crayons up. It's almost time to go see Daddy."

Once the checks were secured in the safe, Ally scooped Gabriel up, who immediately squirmed to be let down. "Hold my hand," she told him as they walked out of her office. "Pike, checks are in the safe and if you need anything you have about thirty minutes before there's not chance in hell I'll answer."

Pike, her longest employee and right hand man, chuckled and kept sketching on his pad. "Aight boss lady. You'll be back Monday, right?"

"Right?"

"How bow legged you gonna be?"

"Very," Ally answered certainly, lowering her voice so the conversation was strictly between the two of them. "Juice is gonna have to clean out the cobwebs and stuff first, but once he does I'm riding him from sunup to sundown."

"Get it babygirl," he purred. "We got this. Get out of here and go see your man."

"Aight. See you guys later. Come on, Gabe."

Gabriel practically pulled her out of the shop and his hand broke away from hers before she was fully out the door. She called after him, but he was all ready stopped by his shoulder bumping into the leg of a tall, lanky man with a brown beard.

"Whoa, there little guy," the man chuckled as Ally rushed up. "I take it he's yours."

Ally nodded bashfully. "Yeah. Sorry about that. Sometimes he's a ball of energy that just likes to explode."

"That's all right," the mans said with a smooth cadence. "Boys will be boys after all. Tom Simpson." He held his hand out in introduction.

"Ally Ortiz," Ally replied politely, taking his hand.

"Lovely to meet you." His eyes never left her.

"Um," Ally pushed her hair behind her ears. She was becoming a little unnerved by his stare. "Thank you and, uh, sorry again. We gotta get going, right Gabe?"

Gabriel nodded eagerly. "I wanna see Daddy!"

"That's what we're going to do," she assured him. "Have a nice day, Tom."

She had all ready turned with her hand tightly wrapped around Gabriel's before he could answer and hurried to her SUV. The drive to TM was short, but felt so long. There was a crowd gathered at the garage, but no familiar motorcycles lined up yet.

"Where Pops?"

"Not here yet, Gabe," she told him as she unbuckled him from his carseat and helped him out. "But he'll be here soon. Come on. I see Grandma over there." She pointed to the picnic tables were Gemma Teller-Morrow was waiting. She smiled when she saw Gabriel running towards her and scooped him up.

"How you doing," she asked Ally walked to them.

"Anxious," Ally murmured in return. "Nervous. Excited. Can't wait for them to get here."

Gemma nodded in understanding. "You did good," she told Ally as she leaned against the picnic table. Gabriel pulled out a coloring book from Ally's bag. "S'not always easy making things work when they're inside."

Ally shrugged. "What can I say? I learned from the best."

Gemma chuckled while putting an arm around Ally's shoulders. "Wasn't just me, sweetheart. It was the whole club."

Ally grinned. "Yeah. You're right."

"Proud of you." Gemma pressed a kiss against Ally's cheek. Ally reciprocated and heard the distinct roar of motorcycles coming. "Daddy's home," Gemma cooed with a wink as Ally grinned and blushed like a schoolgirl.

"Gabe," she held her hand out for Gabriel to take and stand. "Daddy's here!"

Her heart fluttered like an iron hammer as she watched each bike enter one by one before her eyes latched on to a particular one that had been dormant in her garage for three years. One that was now purring loudly with a man who made her weak in the knees atop it.

She couldn't contain her smile as the finally free members of the Sons of Anarchy parked their bikes and got off. Juice's smile was like a lighthouse as soon as his eyes met hers. Ally stepped forward with Gabriel's hand in hers. She squatted as Juice took his helmet off. "Go say hi to Daddy," she murmured into Gabriel's ear before giving him a gentle push towards the bikes.

Gabriel grinned and ran towards him. "Daddy!"

With a playful growl Juice scooped him up and kissed his temple. "Hey little man. Missed you." Gabriel giggled and rested his head on Juice's shoulder as he quickly made his way to Ally.

She was barely able to murmur a shy 'hi' before he crashed his lips against her. Ally melted and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She had missed being this close to him this intimately. When she visited him at prison, they could only embrace momentarily and kisses were kept to chaste pecks only.

"Hey, Pretty Girl," Juice breathed when they broke apart. He rested his forehead against hers.

"Hey, Juan Carlos," she murmured back, her lips nuzzling his jawline.

"Pops!"

They jerked apart with their ears ringing. Gabriel was practically bouncing in Juice's arm and reaching out to Tig, who was hurrying towards them. He deftly scooped Gabriel out of Juice's arms and growled playfully into his grandson's neck. Gabriel shrieked and giggled.

"I'm deaf," Ally said, still rubbing her ear. Juice was doing the same. "I'm officially deaf."

"What?"

She narrowed her eyes at Juice, who grinned in response.

"Hey, baby girl," Tig greeted, kissing Ally's temple. She pecked his cheek and hugged him hard.

"Hey, Daddy," she replied as he walked away with Gabriel chatting his ear off. She shook her head and allowed herself to be pulled back into Juice's embrace. "Are you ready to come home?"

He nodded. "Oh, yeah, baby. But, the real question is," he leaned towards her ear, "are you ready for me to come home?" He smirked when he felt Ally shiver under his touch.

"Oh, yeah," she breathed. "I'm ready." She stealthily slid her hand between them and cupped him with a wink.

"Chapel! Ten minutes," Clay called out as members began moving towards the doors of the clubhouse.

Ally sighed and gripped Juice's kutte. "How long you gonna be?"

He shrugged and pulled her long hair over her shoulder so it cascaded down her chest. "Got some stuff to do today, but probably shouldn't be more than a coupla hours. What time you gotta leave to get ready?"

Tonight was Opie and Lyla's wedding. As tradition with Sons weddings, the wedding party had to consist of Sons and Old Ladies. Jax was Opie's best man while Ally was Lyla's maid of honor.

"Bout five," she murmured back, brushing her lips against his. She couldn't get enough of him and didn't want to take her hands off him. He was finally home.

One of his brothers tugged on his shoulders and Juice let them lead him away. He walked backwards and winked at her as Gabriel ran past his legs to Ally, his arms raised to be picked up. Tig was chasing him.

"Oh, you getting heavy," she exclaimed as she pulled him up. Tig, without stopping or missing a beat, crushed them both in a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.

"I'll see you tonight," he called over his shoulder as he headed towards the clubhouse. "Love ya, kid."

"Love you too, old man."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delay. You can consider this chapter a slightly early birthday present to LOVEINK, who writes the best Juice stories ever! If you haven't read '** ** _Hands All Over_** **,' she just finished it and it's the best thing in the fandom. No joke.**

Ally took a steadying breath as she pulled on her silk robe. Juice had text her five minutes ago to tell her he was on his way. It only took ten minutes to get from the garage to their house. It had been a hell of an afternoon getting Gabriel to take his nap after the excitement of the morning. He barely left Ally enough time to slip on her new lingerie she bought specifically for this day and primp for her husband's arrival.

The sound of a rumbling motorcycle caused a warmth to pool in her belly along with the flutter of butterflies.

Juice was home.

Ally closed her eyes and counted to twenty. She smoothed her hair as Reaper began to bark and rush towards the door.

"Dammit Reaper," she hissed behind him. "Be quiet! Don't wake Gabe."

She stopped in the middle of the hall. Juice had burst through the door and was on his knees greeting Reaper, who was licking his face in welcome. She leaned against the wall and bit her lip. Wishing he was there and pretending he was there with them wasn't even on the same level of him actually being there in their home.

She stayed quiet as he stood, giving Reaper one more scratch behind the ears. A look of awe was on his face as he took in the home that was new to him. It was perfect. His head turned as he took it in and landed on Ally.

"Hi," she said softly, suddenly feeling shy as she pulled her robe around her. "Welcome home."

Juice didn't respond. His shoulders slumped in relief and rushed towards her. With a squeal, Ally was gathered up into his arms and drug towards the back.

"Where's our bedroom," he growled, not sure of where to go in this new house.

"Last door on the left," Ally panted, kissing his cheek. "We have about an hour before Gabe wakes up," she murmured before Juice threw her on the bed and crawled between her legs. His lips attacked her neck with a fervor that made her shiver.

Her hands went to his belt of their own accord and hastily unclasped it.

"First go's not gonna be that long," he whispered, pushing her little panties to the side. "But I'll make it up to you."

"I know you will." Ally followed his lead and shifted her hips down as she clawed his shirt off. "Gentle, gentle, gentle," she warned hastily as he pressed against her. "It's been awhile."

Juice moaned and pressed his lips against hers. Knowing that she had waited his entire sentence for him dutifully without complaint was a turn on he had never expected. There was a prison clause that she could have used and gotten some during his time inside and there wouldn't have been anything he could have done about it.

But she didn't.

"You're the best, pretty girl. And I love you so much."

 **# # # #**

"You look amazing," Juice purred as he stepped behind Ally who was putting on her mascara in the bathroom mirror.

Ally rolled her eyes and tossed the tube back in its drawer. "Go on. Get three years worth of flattery out of you." She turned and put a hand on her hip that was covered in the navy blue strapless dress Lyla had chosen for the bridesmaid dress.

"Just three years?" He followed her into their bedroom as she pulled her boots on while tossing her heels into a backpack. "Thought I had the rest of our lives?"

"Cheese, Ortiz. You're full of cheese," she insisted. "Is Neeta here yet?" She saw him nod as she shrugged on her leather jacket and grabbed the backpack. "Let's get going then and get this over with because I have plans for you tonight." She nipped his chin.

Juice didn't respond.

Ally stepped back and eyed his skeptically. "Juan Carlos? What's going on?"

Juice shrugged sheepishly and stepped away so he could put his kutte on and but a little distance between them. "I gotta go do some stuff for the club tonight during the wedding. I dunno how long I'll be."

"Stuff," Ally repeated dryly. "What kind of stuff? What's more important than dancing with your wife and then taking her home to fuck her every way until Sunday? The wife you haven't been able to really see for three years?"

"It's Club stuff," Juice mumbled. "And I don't want to do it, Al, but I gotta. I'll be back and it shouldn't take too long. I promise." He crossed back to her and lifted her petulant face by the chin. "But tomorrow is just me and you and Gabe. I promise."

Ally shrugged and crossed her arms. "I don't like this. You just got out and whatever you're doing will send you right back in if you're caught."

"We're not gonna get caught," Juice insisted. "And who said it was bad anyway?"

With a scoff, Ally slung the backpack over her shoulders. "You didn't have to." Her expression softened with a sigh. "Just be careful."

"I will," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "Come on. Let's go."

"Gabe," Ally called out. "We're leaving." They went into the living room where Gabe was playing cars with Neeta. He jumped up and slammed himself into Ally's knees, giving her a tight hug.

"Be a good boy for Neeta tonight," Ally told him. "We'll be back later." She squatted down and kissed his cheek. "Say bye to Daddy."

Gabriel remained around Ally's legs, burying his face in her knees.

"Go on," Ally encouraged, nudging him gently. Gabriel shook his head and tightened his grip on her. Ally looked over her shoulder at Juice, who had a slightly hurt expression fly across his face. She shrugged nonchalantly. "He's just feeling shy. Probably tired, too. Been a big day for him."

Juice nodded and smeared a smile on his face. "It's fine," he insisted. "I get it. We'll see you in a little bit, buddy."

Gabe waved shyly and ran back to his cars. They said their goodbyes to Neeta and for the first time in three years, Ally climbed on the back of a motorcycle with her husband. Juice squeezed her knee affectionately as they rode through town towards the Wahewa land where the wedding was to be.

"Feel good to ride again," Ally asked as they parked and Juice killed the engine.

"Shit, yeah," he replied, giving her his hand so she could get off easily. "Feels so good to be back and even better with you right behind me." He squeezed her hand as they headed towards the wedding area.

When they arrived there were rows upon rows of motorcycles lined up. All of the outlaw community had come. Juice parked next to Bobby's bike and helped Ally off.

"Don't tell me you fucking rode without pants on."

Ally and Juice looked over their shoulders to see Tig walking up behind him. His hair was still damp from a shower.

"I'm a big girl, Dad," Ally reminded him as he pulled her into a one armed hug. "And nothing happened."

"You said nothing was gonna happen last time and we all remember what happened then," Tig muttered, staring her down through his dark sunglasses.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember that," she muttered dryly. "Still got the scars." She turned her leg to expose the sun tanned skin that glittered white scars when the light hit it just right. "But it's fine. It's a good day, you know."

"Yeah," Tig drawled in agreement. "Good to be out." He kissed the side of her head. His eyes had wandered to a dark skinned woman in a tight, short, pink dress. "I'll catch you later Ally cat."

Ally rolled her eyes and Juice shook his head. "Wonder his balls didn't explode from lack of pussy the past few years," Juice mumbled as more people started milling around them. He saw Jax talking with Opie with they smoked cigarettes. "Tara not here?"

Ally shook her head as they headed towards the two men. "No. You know since she took that job at that private hospital, clinic thing up in Oregon she hasn't been back," she told him lowly. "Me and Gemma had to go there when Thomas was born and to see the babies and everything. Tara was determined to get the hell out Charming and probably has no intention of setting foot back in it."

"Which means Jax ain't coming back to Redwood."

Ally shook her head. "Doubt it. And it sucks because that's where he belongs, you know."

Juice nodded as people began to take their seats. Jax sidled up to them and put his arms around Ally.

"Ready to do this Al?"

"Yeah," Ally sighed, putting her arm around his waist as they headed toward the back of the aisle. "Wish Piney was here for this."

Piney, Opie's father and one of the founding members of the Sons, had passed away four months before from a heart attack.

Jax nodded. "Hate it happened when we were in. Gonna miss that drunk fuck."

Ally chuckled as music began playing and they did their job of walking down the aisle. Jax kept his arm around her shoulders while she kept his around his waist. Opie rolled his eyes at them as they approached the alter.

The wedding ensued in typical Sons fashion with plenty of brashness and Lyla in a teeny-tiny porn star approved wedding dress.

When the ceremony broke and the reception party began. Ally made a beeline towards Juice, who had settled at a table with Clay, Gemma and Tig.

"Glad that's over," she said as she sat in Juice's lap, stuffing her heels in the backpack slung over the back of the chair and pulling her boots out. "Wanna dance?"

She saw the look on his face. It was a look of neutral passiveness. He didn't want to dance, but he did. Juice was a great dancer and some of her favorite dates had been when he had taken her out dancing. That, however, was not something he flaunted in front of the Club.

"Come on." She pulled him up and drug him towards the dance floor.

Jax took Juice's freshly vacated seat.

"Talk to Tara," Gemma testily asked her son while stirring the ice in her drink.

He nodded and took a sip of his beer. "Yeah. Gonna head up in the morning and see her and the boys before I gotta hit the road."

Gemma 'hurmphed' and took a sip. "Ran out of here without looking back and took my grandkids with her."

Jax ignored the jab. He was watching Ally and Juice on the dance floor. Juice said something to Ally that earned him a nipple twist. Ally tried to walk away with a smirk on her face, but Juice pulled her back and spun her around so she was facing him. They were laughing.

"Yeah, well, you'll get another soon probably," he muttered, nodding towards the couple. "Know they're not wasting any time."

Tig rolled his eyes and accepted the cigar Clay offered him. "Noticed she was walkin' a little funny."

"I've been thinking," Jax said to Clay quietly, aware of all the ears around them. "I'm gonna swap with Juice and go with Hap and them."

Clay shook his head. "Nah. Juice needs to be there."

"The whole point of this is to be low profile," Jax argued quietly. "Really think people aren't gonna notice when he leaves? I mean, every dick in here is watching Al and they're gonna know when he's gone."

Clay's mouth tightened as he took in Jax's words. He also watched the couple and scanned the area. Jax was right. Plenty of men from various Sons chapters and other groups were carefully watching her. "The point was also to get your revenge on Petlova for shanking you."

Jax shrugged. "We're gettin' it either way."

Clay puffed his cigar and watched Juice and Ally. "Aight," he relented. "Make the switch. Tell Juice to stay close and be ready."

Ally didn't even notice when members started to disappear. Juice kept her twirling on the dance floor until she was fanning herself and begging for a break to get a cold drink.

"Thank you," she sighed as she accepted the icy cold beer he handed her. He led her back to the table where the remaining Sons were gathered with Petlova and his crew. Petlova was handing Opie a handgun as a wedding gift.

Gemma had all ready left.

Casually, Tig leaned back and muttered something into Juice's ear. Juice had been so wrapped up in Ally, he hadn't noticed his cue to leave with the others never came. He nodded to Tig and put his lips by Ally's ear.

They weren't words Ally was trained to ignore. She nodded subtly and gave him a peck on the lips. "I'm gonna go make some rounds. I see Marcus over there and I'm gonna go say hi." She nodded to Marcus Alvarez, president of the Mayan MC, a few tables over.

Ally made her rounds and made a point to not look back to see where Juice or any of the other Sons had gone. She was sitting with the Alvarez's and showing off photo after photo on her phone of Gabriel to the couple while they shared photos of their newborn daugher when Lyla approached her.

"Hey, Ally. Do you know where Opie went?"

Ally shook her head and swiped to another photo. "I don't. I'm sure my husband is with him doing whatever it is those guys do. They'll come back when they're hungry. Don't worry."

"I hate when they disappear like that," Lyla commented. Ally really wanted to tell her to shut up and stop raising red flags. She wasn't sure of the relationship the Sons had with the Mayans over the Russian deal and didn't want to something slip that she shouldn't.

"Oh, look. There they are," Ally said, nodding towards the edge of the woods where the guys were coming back with cigars in their hands. "They must have been smoking from Clay's personal stash. He doesn't really share so they were probably keeping it on the DL."

Marcus chuckled at her statement as some tension slipped from Ally's shoulders. A few more minutes and Lyla would have said too much. Quickly, Ally excused herself and went over to the men. Juice chuckled at something Tig was saying and grinned when he saw Ally approaching.

"Hey," she murmured, looping her fingers through his belt loops. "Ready to dip out?" She pushed her body up against him, letting him know it wasn't going to be just going to sleep when they got home."

"Always, Pretty Girl."


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah, I know. I'm a terrible person. But, hey, I'm giving it another shot! Please enjoy!**

* * *

His prison bunk could never compare to the comfort of his own bed. Juice stretched and curled around Ally, who made a sleepy noise and snuggled into him. It was early and quiet in the Ortiz home and it was the best sleep Juice had had in three years.

Ally sighed and shifted as his thumb ran back and forth over her bare stomach where her silky nightgown had shifted up. Juice opened his bleary eyes and pressed a kiss against her exposed neck.

It was Sunday and it was his favorite day. There was no work at the garage and Sundays were generally more quiet in the outlaw world. Even when he was in prison it was a quiet day. Prisoners were generally sated from visitations the day before and religious services that morning.

Before he went in Sundays were a day he and Ally spent in bed watching movies and enjoying each other. Every Sunday he spent in prison he spent yearning for their Sundays together.

His mouth worked down her neck as his hands pushed her slip up.

"You're gonna regret that," Ally mumbled sleepily, her eyes still closed.

"No, I'm not," he insisted, rolling her over so she was on her back while he climbed on top of her. His hands cupped her chest as he continued to nuzzle her neck working up to the birthmark on her jaw where he knew she was extra sensitive. "I've missed waking up to you."

Ally chuckled as she widened her legs more comfortably and met his lazy kiss. "Listen," she murmured groggily, her eyes barely open.

Juice paused with a confused look on his face. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be listening to.

"To what?"

"Just listen."

Then he heard it.

The slapping of small, bare feet on the hardwood floors.

Ally rolled out from underneath him and pulled her slip back down. "Put that thing away," she told him, patting his behind as the door creaked opened and Gabriel came in with his Mickey Mouse plush dragging behind him.

"Morning Gabe," Ally greeted softly as she rubbed her eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed as he stayed put by the door. "Well, come here."

Gabriel didn't move. He continued to stand at the door with his hand on the knob shyly looking over at them. Ally sighed and got out of the bed to go pick him up and bring him back.

"I don't know why you're acting so shy," she told him as they settled back against the pillows. Juice didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. His son didn't know what to say around him.

"Tell Daddy what we do on Sunday mornings," Ally encouraged as she pulled the blankets around them. Gabriel didn't respond. He buried his face in Ally's side.

"Go on," she prodded, nudging him gently. "Tell him what we watch."

After a few moments with Juice watching on with anxious breath, Gabriel lifted his head.

"Mi'key," he finally mumbled quietly.

"That's right." Ally grabbed the remote from the nightstand. "We watch Mickey Mouse on Sunday mornings." She looked over at Juice who had a downcast expression on his face as he watched Gabriel. "Not the same Sundays you're used to," Ally told him softly as the cartoon began playing on the television mounted on the wall.

"No, no," Juice argued, leaning back on the pillows. "I like Mickey. I always liked Donald Duck when I was little though," he told Gabriel, whose eyes were darting between the screen and Juice. Gabriel grinned around the thumb in his mouth and curled into Ally a little more. Juice did a very poor imitation of Donald Duck's classic quaking in an attempt to earn a laugh from his son.

It worked. Gabriel giggled.

Juice's smile could have lit up the town.

They laid quietly together, the three of them, and watched Mickey's escapades with his cartoon gang.

Ally glanced down to see her two boys engrossed in the cartoons. Gabriel had leaned more against the pillows than her and was closer to Juice, but still not completely touching. She smiled to herself and slid out of the bed.

Gabriel sat up at full alert. "Where goin'?

She kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair. "Stay here with Daddy and watch cartoons. I'm going to go start on breakfast."

"No," he whined, sitting up on his knees, reaching for her and tugging her slip.

"No, no. Stay here. I'l be back. It's okay." She kissed his forehead and swiftly walked out of the room before he could reach for her or try to climb out of the bed on his own. Gabriel and Juice needed one on one time.

"It's all right, man," Juice said in what he hoped to be a light, convincing tone, wiggling down a bit and getting more comfortable under the bedding. Gabriel eyed him suspiciously and brought his Mickey Mouse plush closer to him. He didn't relax onto the pillows.

"So," Juice said awkwardly, not knowing what to do. "You like Mickey?"

Gabriel looked at him and blinked. It was a look that looked straight through you. It was so Ally Juice very nearly forgot he wasn't biologically hers.

"I find Mommy," Gabriel muttered, climbing out the bed with a thump. He ran out the door before Juice could get out of the bed.

He groaned and flopped back with a sigh. He couldn't connect with his son. His son didn't want to connect with him and wouldn't even be in the same room alone with him. He rubbed his eyes and got up, pulling on a pair of sweat pants.

Heading down the short hall that opened into the living room, dining and kitchen area, Juice couldn't help but admire how well Ally had planned and decorated the house. In the short time it had been completed and she and Gabe had been living there, it was filled with personal touches and photographs. It even seemed like he had been there the whole time with the painting of the New York skyline in the living room and subtle Sons of Anarchy touches here and there.

"Why don't you want to spend time with Daddy?"

Juice stopped where he was and listened. Ally was speaking to Gabriel as she was making breakfast. It smelled like french toast.

Gabriel spoke too lowly in his toddler dialect for Juice to hear, but he distinctly heard Ally sigh and grunt as she picked him up to sit on her hip.

"Sweetie, I know it's different and you're not used to it, but Daddy's going to be living with us all the time now. We won't have to go visit him just once a week in that place like we used to. We'll see him all the time and he missed you so much. He loves you, Gabe, and so do I. You just need to get used to it and it'll take time, but it's going to be okay. Can you try, please, for Mommy?"

Juice didn't hear Gabriel's response, but the conversation seemed to be over after that. He stepped in cautiously and Ally looked over her shoulder at him with a grin. "There's Daddy," she said, as handed Gabriel his plate of cut up pieces of french toast. "Hungry, baby?"

"Mmmhmm," Juice purred, wrapping his arms around her and kissed the back of her head. "House looks great," he murmured as Ally fixed two more plates.

"Oh, good. So you like it?" Ally turned to look at him with uncertainty tainting her face.

"I do," he assured her, gently kissing her lips. It didn't go unnoticed by him that Gabriel was watching him with a wary look on his face. "You did good, Pretty Girl." He grinned at Ally's responding smile and they took a seat at the kitchen table with Gabriel.

They ate their breakfast in comfortable quiet as Reaper sat at Juice's feet and begged for the bacon on his plate. Juice complied while giving Ally a wink. When they were finished Gabriel scampered into the living room to watch cartoons while Juice helped Ally wash and tidy the kitchen.

"Hey," Ally tugged on his sweatpants to get his attention. "Sorry about this morning. I'll make it up to you at nap time."

Juice chuckled and kissed her forehead, taking a quick whiff of her scent. "It's fine, Pretty Girl. Just gotta get used to not having you whenever and wherever I want, I guess."

"Nah. Just gotta get a little more creative," she assured him with a wink.

"Mama, Mama!" Gabriel ran into the kitchen. "I wanna play ducks!"

Ally's eyes lit up and turned to Juice. "Oh, that reminds me. Got you something. Come in here." She led him into the living room with Gabriel all ready in front of the television pulling out something from the trunk underneath it.

"I found this at a garage sale outside of Lodi last year and it was in perfect working condition and even had some games." With a flourish, she presented Juice an original Nintendo game system that was stacked neatly with an X-box and Wii. "And I thought of you. I had to buy another controller and the gun," she nodded to the orange Nintendo gun in Gabriel's hand, "on eBay. I know how much you love old school Mario and when I saw it I couldn't pass it up."

"Ducks, Mama! Pow, pow!"

"And Gabe likes the Duck Hunt game," she added as Juice took a seat on the couch. "What do you think?"

"I think I love you more now than I have ever before," Juice commented as Ally booted up the game. "Hey Gabe," he called out. Gabriel looked at him while holding the orange plastic gun in both hands. "You know the duck game is one of my favorites too. Wanna play?"

Gabriel nodded and joined him on the couch.

"All right," Ally murmured, moving behind the couch and out of the way of the television. "Well, you boys play nice and I'm gonna get the paper and take a shower." She kissed the tops of their heads. "Have fun."

Out of habit, she made her shower quick and efficient. Before Gabriel was born and before Juice went inside she would sometimes slip on sexy lingerie on Sunday afternoons just to tease Juice. Or, they would both walk around in the nude. That wasn't very practical now with a precocious three year old.

She could hear the clicking of the game gun as she headed out the front door to get the paper. The neighborhood was quiet, which was normal for a Sunday morning. Many of the houses had been remodeled added with fresh landscaping since the last time Juice was home. It wasn't the same Carpenter Street he knew.

Ally skimmed the front page story of three bodies being found at the construction site of Charming Heights, the new development on the other end of town, as she sat on the couch while Juice cheered Gabriel on as he played the game.

"Silly dog," Gabriel giggled as the game's dog laughed because Juice missed a bird.

"Yeah," Juice grumbled as Ally took a seat next to him, absorbed in the newspaper, "they don't let you shoot the dog." He handed Gabriel the gun, who immediately began clicking the trigger before the game even started. "Anything good," he asked Ally while putting an arm around her. She smelled fresh after her shower. Like vanilla and almonds.

Wordlessly, she showed him the front page with the headline of the bodies. "Know anything about this?"

He leaned back against the couch with a sigh. "Yeah," he told her softly. "That was where I was supposed to go last night. Instead Clay had me swap with Jax. It was just settling up a debt."

"The Russians aren't some dinky little group," Ally countered carefully. "What about retaliation?"

"Don't worry about it," Juice replied easily, reaching for his cup of coffee on the table. He caught Ally's disbelieving glare. "Seriously," he said with a grin. "It's fine. Everything's gonna be fine, baby. So, what are we doin' today?"

Ally shrugged and leaned into him. He put his arm around her as Gabriel became bored with the video game and started pushing his toy cars around the floor. "Whatever you want to do. It's Sunday. No Club stuff today?"

Juice shook head. "Nope. At least, none they need me for right now if there is."

Ally grinned and curled into him. She closed her eyes in contentment as Juice kissed the top of her head. She had missed this complete and utter comfort and contentment while he had been away. A sharp thunk followed by a distressed cry jerked her away from it.

Ally shoved away from Juice and rushed to Gabriel, who was clutching his head as fat, crocodile tears ran down his cheeks. "Gabe, what happened? Oh, baby," she pulled his hand away to see a red mark forming with a bump underneath. Gabriel didn't respond verbally around his wails. He merely pointed as the end table.

He had tripped and run into it.

"Let mama see," she coaxed as she inspected it closer. There was a red welp, but no blood. "Oh, you're okay." She kissed it and hugged him tightly. "You're okay. That's why we need to watch where we're going."

She heard the familiar ring of Juice's burner. He stepped out of the living room as Ally tended to Gabriel, who was still sniffling into her ear, but had calmed.

When Juice came back, he was dressed and had his kutte on with a regretful look on his face. She knew that look.

"Club stuff?"

"Club stuff," he mumbled. "I won't be long, though. And I'll be local so I'll be back even sooner. Gotta build some boxes."

Ally nodded sadly as he leaned down to give her a kiss. She wasn't going to ask what kind of boxes or what for. She figured it was for a run of guns, but the less she knew the better. Juice attempted to give a kiss to Gabriel, but he shied away and buried himself in Ally's neck.

"It was good while it lasted," Ally murmured, pecking Juice's cheek in an attempt to soften the emotional blow given by Gabriel. "I'll see you in a little bit."

* * *

Ally was right.

It had been good while it lasted.

He had been out for barely an entire weekend before he was sitting in the back of a Sheriff's car being hauled to the station. He had been picked up outside Clear Passages, the weed shop and colon clearing establishment he had invested in before he had gone in.

Chibs had divulged in some shady burritos and needed to get cleaned out. Juice had offered to go with him and that's when the cops had busted him. Because he had dime bag of weed in the pocket of his kutte.

"This is bullshit," he muttered as he sat in the familiar backseat.

"Shut up shithead," the bald headed black cop snapped from the front seat. Juice ground his teeth as the cuffs dug into the skin of his wrists. The short ride to the station wasn't quick enough. The cop escorted him in and deposited him in front of the chief's door.

After a quick knock he was pushed inside where Sheriff Roosevelt was waiting. He spun around in his chair to see him and closed the file he had been looking at. "Close the door," he said blandly to the officer. "Ortiz," he drawled in greeting. Haven't even been out a week and here you are."

"It's bullshit. I have a card," Juice replied, referring to his government issued marijuana card that made it legal for him to have it.

Roosevelt chuckled dryly. "Uncle Sam doesn't give a shit about that when you're a felon, Ortiz. That's not why you're here, though. Thought it'd be time for us to get to know one another." He took a picture from his desk drawer. "You're from New York, right?"

Juice shrugged. "So?"

Roosevelt casually got up and sat on the edge of his desk closest to Juice. "Thought you'd appreciate this. This is a picture of me and my dad fishing at Rockaway Beach."

Juice took one glance at the photo before snorting in disbelief. The photo may have been of Roosevelt and his dad and it may have been in New York. Not New York City. The photo wasn't taken at Rockaway. It was too clean and the water too blue. "That ain't Rockaway."

"Of course it is."

"Nah. The closest thing you'd catch out of Rockaway is an AIDS syringe. What's this about?"

"You ever talk to your Dad, Ortiz?"

"Never even met the guy." Juice's confusion of this meeting was growing but he was doing everything he could to keep his face smooth.

"Would you want to?" The core of the meeting was beginning to show. "I can make that happen." Roosevelt reopened the file he had been looking at and handed it to Juice. Paper clipped to the top was a photo of a dark skinned man with a bright smile. It looked like he was a line cook at a restaurant somewhere.

Juice had seen photos of him before. He didn't even need to look at the report to know his name: Michael Cole. Given, the photos he had always seen had been when Michael was a much younger man, but the unnerving feature that always bothered Juice was the fact that they shared the same smile.

The same smile Juice shared with his son.

In a fleeting moment of disgust, he noticed several traits of Gabriel that were present in Michael. Aside from his smile and shape of his mouth, his ears and jawline were reminiscent of the man's. At least Gabriel's skin tone was a lighter tone than even Juice's mostly Latino coloring.

Juice skimmed the brief information accompanying the photo. Apparently Michael now lived in Chicago and had been for twelve years.

"You see what I see," Roosevelt continued, sitting back in his chair. "Not the fact that you're a dead ringer for your daddy or that your son looks just like him too?" He paused as Juice gritted his teeth and snapped the folder closed. "No. What I noticed is that he's black.

"Yeah. So?"

Roosevelt eyed Juice carefully. The younger man's tension was radiating off of him in waves. He knew he was hitting a sore spot.

"So," Roosevelt repeated. "So, no brothers in the Club. Am I right?"

"I'm not a brother," Juice snapped.

"Oh, sure you are. Let me break it down for you, Ortiz," Roosevelt started, leaning on his elbows on the shiny mahogany desk. "You can't be in SAMCRO if you're black. You obviously left that little bit of your heritage out so they would accept you. What do you think they would do if they know who you really are?"

Juice was biting down on the inside of his mouth so hard he was drawing blood. "What do you want," he ground out, glaring at the sheriff.

Roosevelt couldn't help but be slightly amused by Juice's volatile reaction. "Look, man, I'm not the bad guy. I'm not here to make your life more complicated. But, the fact of the matter is you aren't who you say you are. Now, I can keep this secret for you. SAMCRO will never know of your darker roots. But, you gotta do something for us, my brother."


End file.
